Display apparatus

ABSTRACT

A display apparatus includes a display module having a display panel configured to display an image; a sound generating device on a rear surface of the display panel and including a first side and a second side perpendicular to the first side and an adhesive member in a partial region of the sound generating device, the adhesive member having a size smaller than one of the first side and the second side of the sound generating device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of a co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/688,226, filed on Nov. 19, 2019, which claimsthe benefit and priority to Korean Patent Application No.10-2018-0154762, filed on Dec. 4, 2018. The entirety of each of theabove prior U.S. and Korean patent applications is hereby incorporatedby reference.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a display apparatus.

Discussion of the Related Art

A display apparatus may be mounted in electronic products or homeappliances such as a television, a monitor, a notebook computer, asmartphone, a tablet computer, an electronic pad, a wearable device, awatch phone, a portable information device, a navigation device, vehiclecontrol display equipment, and the like and used as a screen displayingan image. The display apparatus may include a display panel displayingan image and a sound device outputting a sound related to an image.

Recently, demand for lighter, thinner display apparatuses has increased,while screens thereof tend to be enlarged. However, since the displayapparatus must have sufficient space for installation of a sound devicesuch as a speaker for outputting sound, it is difficult to reduce theweight and size of the display apparatuses. In addition, since soundgenerated by the sound device built in a display apparatus is output indirections toward a rear surface or a side surface of a main body of thedisplay apparatus, rather than to a front surface of a display panel,sound does not travel toward a viewer or a user who views an image infront of the display panel, immersion of the viewer who watches theimage may be disturbed.

SUMMARY

Therefore, the inventors of the present disclosure recognized theabove-mentioned problems and conducted several experiments to checkwhether a traveling direction of sound can be a front surface of adisplay panel when an image is viewed from the front surface of thedisplay panel and sound quality of sound can be enhanced. Throughseveral experiments, the inventors invented a display apparatus having anovel structure capable of generating sound toward the front surface ofthe display panel and improving sound.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to adisplay apparatus that substantially obviates one or more problems dueto limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a display apparatuscapable of outputting sound toward the front of a display panel throughvibration of the display panel and improving sound.

Additional features and aspectcs will be set forth in the descriptionthat follows, and in part will be apparent from description or may belearned by practice of inventive concepts provided herein. Otherfeatures and aspects of the inventive concepts may be realized andattained by the structure particularly pointed out in the writtendescription, or derivable therefrom, and the claims hereof as well asthe appended drawings.

To achieve these and other aspects of the inventive concepts as embodiedand broadly described, a display apparatus comprises a display modulehaving a display panel configured to display an image, a soundgenerating device on a rear surface of the display panel and including afirst side and a second side perpendicular to the first side, and anadhesive member in a partial region of the sound generating device, theadhesive member having a size smaller than one of the first side and thesecond side of the sound generating device.

In another aspect, a display apparatus comprises a display module havinga display panel configured to display an image, a sound generatingdevice on a rear surface of the display panel and including a first sideand a second side perpendicular to the first side, and an adhesivemember between the display panel and the sound generating device, theadhesive member including a first side and a second side perpendicularto the first side, wherein a length of the first side of the adhesivemember is smaller than or equal to a length of the first side of thesound generating device and a length of the second side of the adhesivemember is smaller than or equal to a length of the second side of thesound generating device.

A display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosuremay include the sound generating device that generates sound byvibrating the display panel, whereby sound whose traveling direction inthe display apparatus is a front side of the display panel may begenerated. Therefore, an immersion feeling of a viewer who watches animage of the display apparatus may be enhanced.

A display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosuremay provide a sound generating device with an improved vibrationcharacteristic by configuring an adhesive member in a partial region ofthe sound generating device.

Other systems, methods, features and advantages will be, or will become,apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the followingfigures and detailed description. It is intended that all suchadditional systems, methods, features and advantages be included withinthis description, be within the scope of the present disclosure, and beprotected by the following claims. Nothing in this section should betaken as a limitation on those claims. Further aspects and advantagesare discussed below in conjunction with embodiments of the disclosure.It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present disclosure areexemplary and examples and are intended to provide further explanationof the disclosure as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, that may be included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure andtogether with the description serve to explain the various principles ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I′ shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of a display panel shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate vibration of a sound generating deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 5A to 5C illustrate a sound generating device and an adhesiveaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-IF shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a rear view of a display panel shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a rear view of a display panel according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate a sound generating device and an adhesivemember according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate a sound generating device and a structureaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate a sound generating device and a structureaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 13A to 13C illustrate a sound generating device and a structureaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates a sound output characteristic of a sound generatingdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwisedescribed, the same drawing reference numerals should be understood torefer to the same elements, features, and structures. The relative sizeand depiction of these elements may be exaggerated for clarity,illustration, and convenience.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. In the following description, when a detailed description ofwell-known functions or configurations related to this document isdetermined to unnecessarily cloud a gist of the inventive concept, thedetailed description thereof will be omitted. The progression ofprocessing steps and/or operations described is an example; however, thesequence of steps and/or operations is not limited to that set forthherein and may be changed as is known in the art, with the exception ofsteps and/or operations necessarily occurring in a particular order.Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout. Names of therespective elements used in the following explanations are selected onlyfor convenience of writing the specification and may be thus differentfrom those used in actual products.

Advantages and features of the present disclosure, and implementationmethods thereof will be clarified through following embodimentsdescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. The presentdisclosure may, however, be embodied in different forms and should notbe construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather,these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thoroughand complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosureto those skilled in the art. Further, the present disclosure is onlydefined by scopes of claims.

A shape, a size, a ratio, an angle, and a number disclosed in thedrawings for describing embodiments of the present disclosure are merelyan example, and thus, the present disclosure is not limited to theillustrated details. In the following description, when the detaileddescription of the relevant known function or configuration isdetermined to unnecessarily obscure the important point of the presentdisclosure, the detailed description of such known function orconfiguration may be omitted. When terms “comprise,” “have,” and“include” described in the present specification are used, another partmay be added unless a more limiting term, such as “only,” is used. Theterms of a singular form may include plural forms unless referred to thecontrary.

In construing an element, the element is construed as including an errortolerance range even where no explicit description of such an error ortolerance range.

In describing a position relationship, when a position relation betweentwo parts is described as, for example, “on,” “over,” “under,” and“next,” one or more other parts may be disposed between the two partsunless a more limiting term, such as “just” or “direct(ly)” is used. Indescribing a time relationship, when the temporal order is described as,for example, “after,” “subsequent,” “next,” or “before,” a case that isnot continuous may be included, unless a more limiting term, such as“just,” “immediate(ly),” or “direct(ly),” is used.

In describing a time relationship, for example, when the temporal orderis described as “after,” “subsequent,” “next,” and “before,” a casewhich is not continuous may be included, unless a more limiting term,such as unless “just,” “immediate(ly),” or “direct(ly)” is used.

It will be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,” etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements shouldnot be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguishone element from another. For example, a first element could be termed asecond element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a firstelement, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In describing the elements of the present disclosure, terms such as“first,” “second,” “A,” “B,” “(a),” “(b),” may be used. Such terms areused for merely discriminating the corresponding elements from otherelements and the corresponding elements are not limited in theiressence, sequence, or precedence by the terms. It will be understoodthat when an element or layer is referred to as being “on” or “connectedto” another element or layer, it can be directly on or directlyconnected to the other element or layer, or intervening elements orlayers may be present. Also, it should be understood that when oneelement is disposed on or under another element, this may denote a casewhere the elements are disposed to directly contact each other, but maydenote that the elements are disposed without directly contacting eachother.

The term “at least one” should be understood as including any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items. For example,the meaning of “at least one of a first item, a second item, and a thirditem” denotes the combination of all items proposed from two or more ofthe first item, the second item, and the third item as well as the firstitem, the second item, or the third item.

In the description of embodiments, when a structure is described asbeing positioned “on or above” or “under or below” another structure,this description should be construed as including a case in which thestructures contact each other as well as a case in which a thirdstructure is disposed therebetween. The size and thickness of eachelement shown in the drawings are given merely for the convenience ofdescription, and embodiments of the present disclosure are not limitedthereto, unless otherwise specified.

Features of various embodiments of the present disclosure may bepartially or overall coupled to or combined with each other, and may bevariously inter-operated with each other and driven technically as thoseskilled in the art can sufficiently understand. The embodiments of thepresent disclosure may be carried out independently from each other, ormay be carried out together in co-dependent relationship.

In the present disclosure, examples of a display apparatus may include anarrow-sense display apparatus such as an organic light emitting display(OLED) module or a liquid crystal module (LCM) including a display paneland a driver for driving the display panel. Also, examples of thedisplay apparatus may include a set device (or a set apparatus) or a setelectronic device such as a notebook computer, a TV, a computer monitor,an equipment apparatus including an automotive apparatus or another typeapparatuses for vehicles, or a mobile electronic device such as asmartphone or an electronic pad, which is a complete product (or a finalproduct) including an LCM or an OLED module.

Therefore, in the present disclosure, examples of the display apparatusmay include a narrow-sense display apparatus itself, such as an LCM oran OLED module, and a set device which is a final consumer device or anapplication product including the LCM or the OLED module.

In some embodiments, an LCM or an OLED module including a display paneland a driver may be referred to as a narrow-sense display apparatus, andan electronic device which is a final product including an LCM or anOLED module may be referred to as a set apparatus. For example, thenarrow-sense display apparatus may include a display panel, such as anLCD or an OLED, and a source printed circuit board (PCB) which is acontroller for driving the display panel. The set device may furtherinclude a set PCB which is a set controller electrically connected tothe source PCB to overall control the set apparatus.

A display panel applied to an embodiment of the presetn disclosure mayuse any type of display panel, such as a liquid crystal display panel,an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display panel, and anelectroluminescent display panel, but is not limited to a specificdisplay panel which is vibrated by a sound generation device accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure to output sound. Also, ashape or a size of a display panel applied to a display apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited.

For example, if the display panel is the liquid crystal display panel,the display panel may include a plurality of gate lines, a plurality ofdata lines, and a plurality of pixels respectively in a plurality ofpixel areas defined by intersections of the gate lines and the datalines. Also, the display panel may include an array substrate includinga thin film transistor (TFT) which is a switching element for adjustinga light transmittance of each of the plurality of pixels, an uppersubstrate including a color filter and/or a black matrix, and a liquidcrystal layer between the array substrate and the upper substrate.

Moreover, if the display panel is the organic light emitting displaypanel, the display panel may include a plurality of gate lines, aplurality of data lines, and a plurality of pixels respectively providedin a plurality of pixel areas defined by intersections of the gate linesand the data lines. Also, the display panel may include an arraysubstrate including a TFT which is an element for selectively applying avoltage to each of the pixels, an organic light emitting device layer onthe array substrate, and an encapsulation substrate disposed on thearray substrate to cover the organic light emitting device layer. Theencapsulation substrate may protect the TFT and the organic lightemitting device layer from an external impact and may prevent water oroxygen from penetrating into the organic light emitting device layer.Also, a layer provided on the array substrate may include an inorganiclight emitting layer (for example, a nano-sized material layer, aquantum dot, or the like). As another example, the layer provided on thearray substrate may include a micro light emitting diode.

The display panel may further include a backing such as a metal plateattached on the display panel. However, embodiments are not limited tothe metal plate, and the display panel may include another structure.

In the present disclosure, the display panel may be applied to vehiclesas a user interface module such as a central control panel forautomobiles. For example, the display panel may be provided betweenoccupants sitting on two front seats in order for a vibration of thedisplay panel to be transferred to the inside of a vehicle. Therefore,an audio experience in a vehicle is improved in comparison with a casewhere speakers are disposed on interior sides of the vehicle.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings. In the followingdescription, when the detailed description of the relevant knownfunction or configuration is determined to unnecessarily obscure thepresent disclosure, the detailed description may be omitted. Also, forconvenience of description, a scale of each of elements illustrated inthe accompanying drawings differs from a real scale, and thus, is notlimited to a scale illustrated in the drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along lineI-I′ shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a rear view of a display panelillustrated in FIG. 1.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, a display apparatus 10 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may include a display module 100, asupporting member 300, and a sound generating device 400.

The display module 100 may include a display panel 110. The displaypanel 110, which displays an image, for example, an electronic image ora digital image, may be realized as any type of display panel such as aliquid crystal display panel, an organic light emitting diode (OLED)display panel, an electroluminescent display panel, and the like. Thedisplay panel 110 may vibrate according to vibration of the soundgenerating device 400 and output sound in a direction toward the frontof the display panel 110. The sound generating device 400 may generatesound using the display panel 110 as a diaphragm. The sound generatingdevice may be expressed as an actuator, an exciter, or a transducer andis not limited thereto. For example, the sound generating device 400 maybe a sound device that outputs sound according to an electrical signal.

For example, the display panel 110 may be a light emitting display panelor a flexible light emitting display panel but is not limited thereto.The display panel 110 may include a pixel array substrate having a pixelarray layer including a plurality of pixels, and an encapsulation layerfor encapsulating the pixel array.

For example, depending on the structure of the pixel array layerincluding an anode electrode, a cathode electrode, and an organiccompound layer, the display panel 110 may display an image according toa top emission type, a bottom emission type, or a dual emission type.The top emission type may display an image by emitting visible lightgenerated in the pixel array layer to the front side of the basesubstrate, and the bottom emission type may display an image by emittingvisible light generated in the pixel array layer to the rear side of thebase substrate. The dual emission type may display an image by emittingvisible light generated in the pixel array layer to the front side andthe rear side of the base substrate.

The plurality of pixels may be disposed in the pixel areas provided bythe pixel driving lines, respectively. Each of the plurality of pixelsmay include a pixel circuit having at least two thin film transistors(TFTs) and at least one capacitor and a light emitting device emittinglight by a current supplied from the pixel circuit. For example, thelight emitting device may include an organic light emitting layer or aquantum dot light emitting layer, but is not limited thereto. As anotherexample, the light emitting device may include a micro light emittingdiode (LED) but is not limited thereto.

The encapsulation layer may protect the TFT, the light emitting device,and the like from external impact and prevent moisture from penetratinginto the light emitting device. The encapsulation layer may be replacedby an encapsulation substrate attached to the pixel array substrate viaa filler surrounding the pixel array. When the filler is formed as atransparent filler, the encapsulation substrate may be a transparentencapsulation substrate.

The display module 100 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may further include a touch panel 130. The touch panel 130may include a touch electrode layer on the display panel 110 and havinga touch electrode for sensing a user's touch to the display module 100.The touch electrode layer may sense a change in capacitance of the touchelectrode according to the user's touch. For example, amutual-capacitance type in which a plurality of touch driving electrodesand a plurality of touch sensing electrodes intersect each other or aself-capacitance type in which only a plurality of touch sensingelectrodes are arranged may be applied, and an adhesive layer may bedisposed on an upper surface or a lower surface of the touch electrodelayer to adhere and fixe the touch electrode layer to an upper or lowercomponent.

The display module 100 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may further include a polarizing film 150 on the touch panel130. The polarizing film 150 may be attached to the upper surface of thetouch panel 130 via a film attaching member. The polarizing film maychange external light reflected by the TFT and/or pixel driving linesprovided on the pixel array substrate into the circularly polarizedstate, thereby improving visibility and a contrast ratio of the displaypanel 110. The polarizing film 150 may be between the encapsulationlayer of the display panel 110 and the touch panel 130.

The display module 100 may further include a barrier layer interposedbetween the encapsulation layer of the display panel 110 and the touchpanel 130. The barrier layer may prevent moisture or the like frompenetrating toward the pixel array.

The display module 100 may further include a color filter layer on anupper surface of the encapsulation layer of the display panel 110. Thecolor filter layer may overlap each of the plurality of pixels andinclude a color filter allowing only a wavelength of a color set in eachof the plurality of pixels to be transmitted therethrough.

The supporting member 300 may receive the display module 100. Here, inthis disclosure, the supporting member 300 may be expressed as a “coverbottom,” a “plate bottom,” a “back cover,” a “base frame,” a “metalframe,” a “mid-frame,” a “metal chassis,” a “chassis base,” an“m-chassis,” a “housing,” and the like. Therefore, the supporting member300 may include any type of frame or plate-like structure on a rearsurface of the display apparatus, as a support structure for supportingthe display panel 110.

For example, the supporting member 300 may include a supporting memberrear surface portion 310 and a supporting member side surface portion330. The supporting member rear surface portion 310 may be on the rearsurface of the display module 100 to cover the rear surface of thedisplay module 100. For example, the supporting member rear surfaceportion 310 may cover a circuit receiving space in the rear surface ofthe display module 100. For example, the supporting member rear portion310 of the supporting member may be formed of the same material as thecover window 700 or may be formed of a glass material different from thecover window 700. For example, the supporting member rear surfaceportion 310 may be a rear surface cover, but is not limited thereto. Forexample, the supporting member rear surface portion 310 may beconfigured separately from the supporting member side surface portion330.

The supporting member side surface portion 330 may surround each sidesurface of the display module 100 to have a display receiving space inwhich the display module 100 is received. The supporting member sidesurface portion 330 may be formed in a frame shape or a rounded shape,but is not limited thereto. For example, each side surface of thesupporting member may be rounded to have a constant radius of curvatureto improve an aesthetic sense of the display apparatus.

The supporting member side surface portion 330 may include first tofourth side surfaces 331, 332, 333, and 334 of the supporting member300. The first to fourth side surfaces 331, 332, 333, and 334 of thesupporting member 300 may provide a receiving space for receiving thedisplay module 100. For example, the first to fourth side surfaces 331,332, 333, and 334 of the supporting member 300 may provide a circuitreceiving space for receiving peripheral circuits of an electronicdevice including a circuit component of a driving circuit unit, abattery, and the like.

The first side surface 331 of the supporting member may be parallel to afirst lengthwise direction X of the display apparatus. For example, thefirst side surface 331 of the supporting member may be disposedperpendicular to a first side surface or a first long side of thesupporting member rear surface portion 310. The first side surface 331of the supporting member may wrap or surround a first side surface orone horizontal side of the display module 100.

The second side surface 332 of the supporting member may be parallel tothe first side surface 331 of the supporting member. For example, thesecond side surface 332 of the supporting member may be disposedperpendicular to a second side surface or a second long side of thesupporting member rear surface portion 310. The second side surface 332of the supporting member may wrap or surround a second side surface orthe other horizontal side of the display module 100.

The third side surface 333 of the supporting member may be parallel to asecond lengthwise direction Y intersecting the first lengthwisedirection X of the display apparatus. For example, the third sidesurface 333 of the supporting member may be disposed perpendicular tothe third side surface or the first short side of the supporting memberrear surface portion 310. The third side surface 333 of the supportingmember may wrap or surround a third side surface or one vertical side ofthe display module 100.

The fourth side surface 334 of the supporting member may be parallel tothe third side surface 333 of the supporting member. For example, thefourth side surface 334 of the supporting member may be disposedperpendicular to the fourth side surface or the second short side of thesupporting member rear surface portion 310 of the supporting member. Thefourth side surface 334 of the supporting member may wrap or surroundthe fourth side surface or the other vertical side of the display module100.

The sound generating device 400 may be on the rear surface of thedisplay module 100, for example, on the rear surface of the displaypanel 110 and may vibrate the display module 100 according to avibration driving signal. Accordingly, the sound generating device 400may output sound in a forward direction Z of the display panel 110according to the vibration of the display panel 110.

The supporting member 300 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may further include a vibration element exposing part on thesupporting member side surface portion 330 (e.g., the third side surface333) of the supporting member. For example, the vibration elementexposing part may protrude from the supporting member side surfaceportion 330 of the supporting member and be the periphery of the soundgenerating device 400. Accordingly, the sound generating device 400attached to the rear surface of the display module 100 may be exposed tothe outside through the vibration element exposing part. A portion of alower portion of the sound generating device 400 may be inserted oraccommodated into the vibration element exposing part. The vibrationelement exposing part may secure a vibration space for vibration of thesound generating device 400 on the display module 100 to make thedisplay apparatus slimmer and facilitate arrangement of the soundgenerating device 400. If a distance between the supporting member rearsurface portion 310 and the rear surface of the display module 100 islarger than the vibration space, the vibration element exposing part maybe omitted.

A vibration generating element of the sound generating device 400 mayinclude a piezoelectric material layer having a piezoelectric effect andan electrode in an edge or periphery of the piezoelectric materiallayer. In another example, the electrode may be on an upper surfaceand/or a lower surface of the piezoelectric material layer. Theelectrode may be formed of an opaque metal material having relativelylow resistance and excellent heat dissipation characteristic. However,the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the electrode may beformed of a transparent conductive material or a conductive polymermaterial according to circumstances. Since the vibration generatingelement includes the piezoelectric material layer, it may be expressedas a “piezoelectric element.”

The piezoelectric material layer may include a piezoelectric materialthat generates vibration by an electric field. The piezoelectricmaterial has such a characteristic that a potential difference is madedue to dielectric polarization based on a change in relative position ofpositive (+) and negative (−) ions as a pressure or distortionphenomenon acts on a crystal structure due to an external force andvibration is generated by a field in accordance with a reversely appliedvoltage.

The vibration generating element of the sound generating device 400 mayinclude a piezoelectric material of a polymer material, a piezoelectricmaterial of a thin film material, a piezoelectric material of acomposite material, or a piezoelectric material of a single crystalceramic or polycrystalline ceramic. The piezoelectric material of thepolymer material may include polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF),P(VDF-TrFe), or P (VDFTeFE). The piezoelectric material of the thin filmmaterial may include zinc oxide (ZnO), cadmium sulfide (CdS), oraluminum nitride (AlN). The piezoelectric material of the compositematerial may include lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-PVDF, PZT-siliconrubber, PZT-epoxy, PZT-foamed polymer, or PZT-foamed urethane. Thepiezoelectric material of the single crystal ceramic may includealpha-aluminum phosphate (α-AlPO₄), alpha-silicon dioxide (α-SiO₂),lithium niobate (LiNbO₃), terbium molydbate (Tb₂(MoO₄)₃), lithium borate(or lithium tetraborate) (Li₂B₄O₇), or zinc oxide (ZnO). Thepiezoelectric material of the polycrystalline ceramic may include PZT,PT, PZT-complex perovskite, or barium titanate oxide (BaTiO₃).Embodiments of the present disclosure are not limite to these materials.

The vibration generating element of the sound generating device 400 mayhave a shape such as a rectangle, a square, a rhombus, and aparallelogram, but is not limited thereto. For example, the vibrationgenerating element may be formed of a circular shape, an oval shape, andany other shape. The oval shape may include an elliptical shape, arectangular shape with rounded corners, or non-circular curved shapehaving a width different from its height, but is not limited thereto.

To protect the vibration generating element of the sound generatingdevice 400, a protective member may be further disposed. The protectivemember may be formed to have a larger size than or the same size as thatof the sound generating device which is the vibration generatingelement, and may be attached to the rear surface of the sound generatingdevice which is the vibration generating element. The protective membermay prevent damage to the sound generating device due to an electricalshock such as static electricity and/or physical shock. For example, thesound generating device 400 may be damaged by static electricitygenerated in the display module 100, such as a panel driving circuit orintroduced from the outside and may be damaged by physical contact withthe display module 100 due to pressing of the display module 100. Thus,the protective member may be on the rear surface of the sound generatingdevice 400, thereby protecting the sound generating device 400 fromstatic electricity by blocking the static electricity transmitted to thesound generating device 400 through the display module 100 andprotecting the sound generating device 400 from physical shock appliedto the sound generating device 400 from the display module 100. Theprotective member may include, but is not limited to, a single-sidedinsulation tape or an insulating single-sided foam tape having anadhesive layer attached to the rear surface of the sound generatingdevice 400. For example, the protective member may be a polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) insulating tape or a polyvinyl chloride (PVC)insulating tape, but is not limited thereto.

The display apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may further include a driving circuit unit 600 and a coverwindow 700.

The driving circuit unit 600 may be in a circuit receiving space in thesupporting member 300 and may be connected to the display panel 110 andthe sound generating device 400. The driving circuit unit 600 mayinclude a panel driving circuit and a sound processing circuit.

The panel driving circuit may be mounted on the display panel 110 or thecircuit board to display an image on the display panel 110. The paneldriving circuit may be connected to a pad part on the pixel arraysubstrate of the display panel 110 and supply a driving signal and adata signal to the pixel driving lines, thereby displaying an image oneach pixel.

The sound processing circuit may generate an audio signal based on anaudio source and amplify the audio signal to generate a vibrationdriving signal. The sound generating device 400 may be vibratedaccording to the generated vibration driving signal.

The cover window 700 may be coupled or connected to the supportingmember 300 to support the display module 100. The cover window 700 maybe formed of glass or a reinforced glass material. For example, thecover window 700 may have either a sapphire glass or a Gorilla glass ora bonding structure thereof. The cover window 700 may be attached to thefront surface of the display module 100 via an adhesive member. Theadhesive member may be, but is not limited to, an optically clearadhesive (OCA), an optically clear resin (OCR), or a pressure sensitiveadhesive (PSA).

The cover window 700 may cover the non-display area except the displayarea of the display module 100. For example, the cover window 700 mayinclude a transparent area overlapping the display area of the displaymodule 100, a light blocking area overlapping the non-display area ofthe display module 100, and a design layer provided in the lightblocking area to cover the non-display area of the display module 100.The cover window 700 may be a supporting member, a window cover, or thelike, and is not limited thereto.

The sound generating device 400 may be attached or coupled to the rearsurface of the display panel 110 via the adhesive member 403. If theadhesive member 403 is on the entire surface of the sound generatingdevice 400, a compressive tensile force at a central portion and acompressive tensile force at an edge portion of the vibration generatingelement configuring the sound generating device 400 are opposite to eachother, making it difficult to implement a desired sound characteristic.This will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate vibration of a sound generating deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The sound generating device 400 may include a unimorph vibrationgenerating element or a bimorph vibration generating element. Theunimorph vibration generating element or the bimorph vibrationgenerating element may include, for example, two, four, eight, orsixteen layers but is not limited thereto. With reference to FIGS. 4Aand 4B, the sound generating device 400 is a bimorph vibrationgenerating element including an upper layer and a lower layer, and acase where the sound generating device 400 is attached to the entiresurface of the display panel by an adhesive member will be described asan example. FIG. 4A shows the upper layer and FIG. 4b shows the lowerlayer. With reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B, when the upper layer istensioned (C1), the lower layer is compressed (C4), and conversely, whenthe upper layer is compressed (C2), the lower layer moves in a tensionC3 direction. The sound generating device may be vibrated according torepetition of tension and compression. It can be seen that, when theupper layer is tensioned (C1) and the lower layer is compressed (C4)with respect to an initial position at which the vibration generatingelement of the sound generating device is not moved or vibrated, forexample, with respect to a central line CL or a neutral plane, thecentral region of the vibration generating element rises in an upwarddirection and the edge region of the vibration generating elementdescends in a downward direction. Therefore, when the adhesive member isattached to the entire surface of the sound generating device, avibration force pushing up the central region of the vibrationgenerating element is opposite to a vibration force of the edge regionof the vibration generating element, and thus, the pushing force ofpushing the central region of the vibration generating element isdisturbed by the vibration force of the edge region of the vibrationgenerating element. As a result, it was recognized that the vibrationtransmission characteristic of the sound generating device wasdeteriorated because the central region of the vibration generatingelement in which vibration is significantly generated is affected by thevibration. Therefore, the inventors of the present disclosure conductedvarious experiments to realize a sound generating device in which thevibration characteristic is not deteriorated. The inventors of thepresent disclosure invented a sound generating device having a novelstructure in which the vibration characteristic is not deterioratedthrough various experiments. This will be described with reference toFIGS. 1 to 3.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the sound generating device 400 may beattached to or coupled to the rear surface of the display panel 110 viaan adhesive member 403. The adhesive member 403 may be in a region wherethe vibration of the sound generating device 400 significantly occurs.For example, the adhesive member 403 may be in a partial region of thesound generating device 400. For example, the adhesive member 403 may bein an area which vibrates in the same direction as the sound generatingdevice 400 or in a central region of the sound generating device 400.Therefore, since the adhesive member 403 is in the partial region of thesound generating device 400, the vibration at the central region of thesound generating device 400 may be less affected by the vibration at theedge or periphery region of the sound generating device 400. Forexample, since the adhesive member is disposed at the central region ofthe sound generating device 400, the influence of the vibration due tothe edge of the sound generating device may be reduced and the vibrationat the central region of the sound generating device may be enhanced,whereby the vibration characteristic of the sound generating device maybe improved. A height of the adhesive member 403 may be set not to be incontact with the display panel 110 when the sound generating device 400vibrates.

The adhesive member 403 may include a double-sided tape, a double-sidedfoam tape, a thermosetting adhesive, a photo-curable adhesive, and anatural curable adhesive, but is not limited thereto. For example, thethermosetting adhesive may be an epoxy resin, but is not limitedthereto. For example, the adhesive member 403 may be formed ofpolyurethane, polyolefin, and polyethylene, but is not limited thereto.The adhesive member 403 may be a sticking member or a sticking agent,but is not limited thereto.

Therefore, to improve the vibration characteristic of the soundgenerating device 400, the size of the adhesive member 403 may besmaller than the size of the sound generating device 400. The soundgenerating device 400 may have a first side and a second sideperpendicular to the first side. The adhesive member 403 may have afirst side and a second side perpendicular to the first side. The firstside of the sound generating device may correspond to the first side ofthe adhesive member and the second side of the sound generating devicemay correspond to the second side of the adhesive member. For example,the first side of the sound generating device and the adhesive membermay be in a widthwise direction, and the second side of the soundgenerating device and the adhesive member may be in a lengthwisedirection. The widthwise direction and the lengthwise direction may beintermixed in any combination or interchangeable. As another example,the vibration generating element of the sound generating device 400 mayhave a shape such as a rectangle (e.g. quadrilateral), a square, arhombus, and a parallelogram, and is not limited thereto. The adhesivemember 403 may disposed corresponding to the shape of the soundgenerating device. For example, the sound generating device 400 may berectangular (e.g. quadrilateral) and may include a first side and asecond side disposed adjacent to the first side and bent at a 90 degreeangle so as to be disposed. The angle of the second side does not limitthe embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, the adhesivemember 403 may be rectangular and may include a first side and a secondside disposed adjacent to the first side and bent at a 90 degree angleso as to be disposed. The angle of the second side does not limit theembodiment of the present disclosure.

For example, a length A1 of the first side of the adhesive member 403may be 0.2 times to 1 time a length P1 of the first side of the soundgenerating device 400. For example, a length A1 of the first side of theadhesive member 403 may be more than 0.2 times to 1 time a length P1 ofthe first side of the sound generating device 400. For example, a lengthA2 of the second side of the adhesive member 403 may be 0.2 times to 1time a length P2 of the second side of the sound generating device 400.For example, a length A2 of the second side of the adhesive member 403may be more than 0.2 times to 1 time a length P2 of the second side ofthe sound generating device 400.

For example, the size of the adhesive member 403 may be varied accordingto the length P1 of the first side and the length P2 of the second sideof the sound generating device 400, but is not limited thereto. Forexample, when the length P1 of the first side of the sound generatingdevice 400 is larger than the length P2 of the second side of the soundgenerating device 400, the length A1 of the first side of the adhesivemember 403 may be more than 0.2 times to less than 0.5 times the lengthP1 of the first side of the sound generating device 400. For example,when the length P1 of the first side of the sound generating device 400is larger than the length P2 of the second side of the sound generatingdevice 400, the length A2 of the second side of the adhesive member 403may be more than 0.5 times to 1 time the length P2 of the second side ofthe sound generating device 400. For example, when the length P1 of thefirst side of the sound generating device 400 is smaller than the lengthP2 of the second side of the sound generating device 400, the length A1of the first side of the adhesive member 403 may be more than 0.5 timesto 1 time the length P1 of the first side of the sound generating device400. For example, when the length P1 of the first side of the soundgenerating device 400 is smaller than the length P2 of the second sideof the sound generating device 400, the length A2 of the second side ofthe adhesive member 403 may be more than 0.2 times to less than 0.5times the length P2 of the second side of the sound generating device400. For example, when the length P1 of the first side of the soundgenerating device 400 is equal to the length P2 of the second side ofthe sound generating device 400, the length A1 of the first side of theadhesive member 403 may be more than 0.4 times to 1 time the length P1of the first side of the sound generating device 400. For example, whenthe length P1 of the first side of the sound generating device 400 isequal to the length P2 of the second side of the sound generating device400, the length A2 of the second side of the adhesive member 403 may bemore than 0.4 times to 1 time the length P2 of the second side of thesound generating device 400.

The sound generating device 400 may be on an upper portion of the rearsurface of the display panel 110. The display panel 110 may include afirst short side, a second short side facing the first short side, and along side perpendicular to the first short side or the second shortside. For example, the first short side and the second short side may bein a widthwise direction of the display panel 110, and the long side maybe in a lengthwise direction of the display panel 110. The widthwisedirection and the lengthwise direction may be intermixed in anycombination or interchangeable. For example, a distance d1 between thecenter of the sound generating device 400 and the end of the first shortside of the display panel 110 may be ¼ to ⅓ of the long side of thedisplay panel 110. When the sound generating device 400 is disposed onthe upper side of the rear surface of the display panel 110, soundpressure may be further improved than when the sound generating device400 is disposed at the center of the display panel 110.

FIGS. 5A to 5C illustrate a sound generating device and an adhesivemember according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 5A to 5C illustrate an embodiment of an adhesive member attachedto a sound generating device, but the present disclosure is not limitedthereto.

With reference to FIG. 5A, an example in which the length A1 of thefirst side of the adhesive member 403 is 0.3 times the length P1 of thefirst side of the sound generating device 400 and the length A2 of thesecond side of the adhesive member 403 is 0.5 times the length P2 of thesecond side of the sound generating device 400 is illustrated.

With reference to FIG. 5B, an example in which the length A1 of thefirst side of the adhesive member 403 is 0.5 times the length P1 of thefirst side of the sound generating device 400 and the length A2 of thesecond side of the adhesive member 403 is 1 time the length P2 of thesecond side of the sound generating device 400 is illustrated.

With reference to FIG. 5C, an example in which the length A1 of thefirst side of the adhesive member 403 is 0.25 times the length P1 of thefirst side of the sound generating device 400 and the length A2 of thesecond side of the adhesive member 403 is 1 time the length P2 of thesecond side of the sound generating device 400 is illustrated. The soundoutput characteristics of these examples will be described later withreference to FIG. 14.

FIG. 6 illustrates a display apparatus according to another embodimentof the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken alongline II-IF shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is a rear view of the display panelillustrated in FIG. 6.

With reference to FIGS. 6 to 8, a display apparatus 20 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may include a display module 100, asupporting member 300, a first sound generating device 400, and a secondsound generating device 500. The display module 100 may include adisplay panel 110. The display module 100, the display panel 110, andthe supporting member 300 are the same as those described above withreference to FIGS. 1 to 3, and thus a description thereof may be omittedor simplified.

With reference to FIGS. 6 to 8, the display apparatus 20 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may further include the secondsound generating device 500. The sound generating device 400 describedabove with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 may be a first sound generatingdevice, and the adhesive member 403 may be a first adhesive member.

The second sound generating device 500 may be attached or coupled to arear surface of the display panel 110 via the second adhesive member503. The second adhesive member 503 may be disposed at a partial regionof the second sound generating device 500. For example, since the secondadhesive member 503 is in a region which vibrates in the same directionas the second sound generating device 500 or at a central region of thesecond sound generating device 500, a vibration characteristic of thesecond sound generating device 500 may be improved. A height of thesecond adhesive member 503 may be set so as not to be in contact withthe display panel 110 when the second sound generating device 500 isvibrated. The second adhesive member 503 may include a double-sidedtape, a double-sided foam tape, a thermosetting adhesive, aphoto-curable adhesive, and a natural curable adhesive, but is notlimited thereto. For example, the thermosetting adhesive may be an epoxyresin, but is not limited thereto. For example, the second adhesivemember 503 may be formed of polyurethane, polyolefin, and polyethylene,but is not limited thereto. The second adhesive member 503 may be asticking member or a sticking agent but is not limited to a term.

To improve the vibration characteristic of the second sound generatingdevice 500, the size of the second adhesive member 503 may be smallerthan the size of the second sound generating device 500. The secondsound generating device 500 may have a first side and a second sideperpendicular to the first side. The second adhesive member 503 may havea first side and a second side perpendicular to the first side. Thefirst side of the sound generating device may correspond to the firstside of the adhesive member and the second side of the sound generatingdevice may correspond to the second side of the adhesive member. Forexample, the first side of the sound generating device and the adhesivemember may be in a widthwise direction, and the second side of the soundgenerating device and the adhesive member may be in a lengthwisedirection. The widthwise direction and the lengthwise direction may beintermixed in any combination or interchangeable.

As another example, the vibration generating element of the second soundgenerating device 500 may have a shape such as a rectangle (e.g.,quadrilateral), a square, a rhombus, and a parallelogram, and is notlimited thereto. The second adhesive member 503 may be disposedcorresponding to the shape of the sound generating device. For example,the second sound generating device 500 may be rectangular and mayinclude a first side and a second side disposed adjacent to the firstside and bent at a 90 degree angle so as to be disposed. For example,the second adhesive member 503 may be rectangular and may include afirst side and a second side disposed adjacent to the first side andbent at a 90 degree angle so as to be disposed. The angle of the secondside does not limit the embodiment of the present disclosure.

For example, a length A1 of the first side of the second adhesive member503 may be 0.2 times to 1 time a length P1 of the first side of thesecond sound generating device 500. For example, a length A1 of thefirst side of the second adhesive member 503 may be more than 0.2 timesto 1 time a length P1 of the first side of the second sound generatingdevice 500. For example, a length A2 of the second side of the secondadhesive member 503 may be 0.2 times to 1 time a length P2 of the secondside of the second sound generating device 500. For example, a length A2of the second side of the second adhesive member 503 may be more than0.2 times to 1 time a length P2 of the second side of the second soundgenerating device 500.

For example, the size of the second adhesive member 503 may be variedaccording to the length P1 of the first side and the length P2 of thesecond side of the second sound generating device 500, but is notlimited thereto. For example, when the length P1 of the first side ofthe second sound generating device 500 is larger than the length P2 ofthe second side of the second sound generating device 500, the length A1of the first side of the second adhesive member 503 may be more than 0.2times to less than 0.5 times the length P1 of the first side of thesecond sound generating device 500. For example, when the length P1 ofthe first side of the second sound generating device 500 is larger thanthe length P2 of the second side of the second sound generating device500, the length A2 of the second side of the second adhesive member 503may be more than 0.5 times to 1 time the length P2 of the second side ofthe second sound generating device 500. For example, when the length P1of the first side of the second sound generating device 500 is smallerthan the length P2 of the second side of the second sound generatingdevice 500, the length A1 of the first side of the second adhesivemember 503 may be more than 0.5 times to 1 time the length P1 of thefirst side of the second sound generating device 500. For example, whenthe length P1 of the first side of the second sound generating device500 is smaller than the length P2 of the second side of the second soundgenerating device 500, the length A2 of the second side of the secondadhesive member 503 may be more than 0.2 times to less than 0.5 timesthe length P2 of the second side of the second sound generating device500. For example, when the length P1 of the first side of the secondsound generating device 500 is equal to the length P2 of the second sideof the second sound generating device 500, the length A1 of the firstside of the second adhesive member 503 may be more than 0.4 times to 1time the length P1 of the first side of the second sound generatingdevice 500. For example, when the length P1 of the first side of thesecond sound generating device 500 is equal to the length P2 of thesecond side of the second sound generating device 500, the length A2 ofthe second side of the second adhesive member 503 may be more than 0.4times to 1 time the length P2 of the second side of the second soundgenerating device 500.

With reference to FIG. 8, the first sound generating device 400 may beon an upper portion of the rear surface of the display panel 110. Thedisplay panel 110 may include a first short side, a second short sidefacing the first short side, and a long side perpendicular to the firstshort side or the second short side. For example, the first short sideand the second short side may be in a widthwise direction of the displaypanel 110, and the long side may be in a lengthwise direction of thedisplay panel 110. The widthwise direction and the lengthwise directionmay be intermixed in any combination or interchangeable. For example, adistance d1 between the center of the first sound generating device 400and the end of the first short side of the display panel 110 may be ¼ to⅓ of the long side of the display panel 110. When the first soundgenerating device 400 is disposed on the upper side of the rear surfaceof the display panel 110, sound pressure may be further improved thanwhen the first sound generating device 400 is disposed at the center ofthe display panel 110. The second sound generating device 500 may be ona lower portion of the rear surface of the display panel 110. Forexample, a distance d2 between the center of the second sound generatingdevice 500 and the end of the second short side of the display panel 110may be ¼ to ⅓ of the long side of the display panel. The second soundgenerating device 500 may be disposed to be symmetrical with the firstsound generating device 400. For example, the second sound generatingdevice 500 may be disposed to be symmetrical with the first soundgenerating device 400 with respect to a middle portion CL1 of thedisplay module 100.

FIG. 9 is a rear view of a display panel according to another embodimentof the present disclosure.

With reference to FIG. 9, the display apparatus 30 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may include a first soundgenerating device 400 and a second sound generating device 500. Thefirst sound generating device 400 may vibrate a first rear region B1 ofthe display module 100 according to a vibration driving signal providedfrom a driving circuit unit 600. The first rear region B1 may be aregion between a middle portion CL1 of the display module 100 or a rearmiddle portion and one end 110 a of the display module 100 with respectto a first lengthwise direction or a long side direction X of thedisplay module 100, or a rear right region. For example, the first rearregion B1 may be one edge or periphery region of the display module 100or an edge or periphery region of a right/left upper portion of thedisplay module 100 with respect to the lengthwise direction or the longside direction X of the display module 100.

The second sound generating device 500 may vibrate the second rearregion B2 of the display module 100 according to a vibration drivingsignal provided from the driving circuit unit 600. The second rearregion B2 may be a region between the middle part CL1 of the displaymodule 100 and the other end of the display module 100 with respect tothe lengthwise direction or the long side direction X of the displaymodule 100 or a rear left region. For example, the second rear region B2may be the other edge or periphery region or an edge or periphery regionof the left/right portion of the display module 100 with respect to thelengthwise direction or the long side direction X of the display module100. The second sound generating device 500 may be disposed to besymmetrical with the first sound generating device 400. For example, thesecond sound generating device 500 may be disposed to be symmetricalwith the first sound generating device 400 with respect to the middleportion CL1 of the display module 100.

The display apparatus 30 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may further include a partition 900. The partition 900 may bein the rear middle portion CL1 of the display module 100. For example,the partition 900 may be between the first sound generating device 400and the second sound generating device 500. For example, the partition900 may spatially separate or divide a first rear surface region B1overlapping the first sound generating device 400 on the rear surface ofthe display panel 110 and a second rear surface region B2 overlappingthe second sound generating device 500 on the rear surface of thedisplay panel 110, thereby reducing or preventing interference betweensounds respectively generated from the first rear region B1 and thesecond rear region B2. The partition 900 may spatially separate ordivide the first rear surface region B1 and the second rear surfaceregion B2 on the rear surface of the display module 100, for example,the display panel 110, thereby preventing interference between the soundgenerated from each of the first rear surface region B1 and the secondrear region B2. For example, sound may be improved as compared with FIG.8. Accordingly, the partition 900 may separate sounds respectivelygenerated by the first sound generating device 400 and the second soundgenerating device 500, thereby reducing or preventing interferencebetween the sounds, whereby sound of, for example, 2.0 channel type maybe output to the front of the display module 100 according to vibrationof the display module 100.

The partition 900 may be between the rear surface of the display module100 and a supporting member bottom portion 310 of the supporting member300. The rear surface of the partition 900 may be adhered to thesupporting member rear surface portion 310 of the supporting member 300and the front surface of the partition 900 may be adhered to the rearsurface of the display module 100 or may be in contact with the rearsurface of the display module 100 in a non-contact manner. For example,the partition 900 may include, but is not limited to, a single-sidedtape, a foam pad, a double-sided tape, a double-sided foam tape, anadhesive, and an adhesive resin. The partition 900 may be referred to asan “enclosure” or a “baffle” and is not limited thereto.

The sound generating device described above with reference to FIGS. 6 to9 may be applied to a receiver and a speaker of an electronic device,but is not limited thereto. The receiver may transmit a call sound froman electronic device to the user's ear. For example, when operating as areceiver of an electronic device or the like, the first sound generatingdevice 400 may receive a vibration driving signal from a soundprocessing circuit. For example, when the first sound generating deviceis applied to a receiver of an electronic device or the like, a soundmay be transferred to the user or the user may receive the sound by thefirst sound generating device, and thus, a display apparatus capable ofproviding an enhanced call sound or a sound to the user may be provided.For example, when operating as a speaker of an electronic device or thelike, the first sound generating device 400 and the second soundgenerating device 500 may receive a vibration driving signal from eachsound processing circuit. Thus, a sound may be delivered to the user bythe first sound generating device and the second sound generatingdevice. For example, a surround sound may be transferred to the user bythe first sound generating device and the second sound generatingdevice.

FIGS. 10A and 10B show a sound generating device and an adhesive memberaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10A is a side view and FIG. 10B is a front view. FIGS. 10A and 10Bwill be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, and the same may beapplied to FIGS. 6 to 9.

With reference to FIGS. 10A and 10B, the sound generating device 400according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may further includea third adhesive member 405. The adhesive member 403 described in FIGS.1 to 3 and FIGS. 5 to 9 may be a first adhesive member. Since the firstadhesive member 403 of the sound generating device 400 is not attachedto the entire surface of the sound generating device 400, detachment ofthe sound generating device 400 due to a reduction in an adhesion areaof the sound generating device 400 may be prevented by the thirdadhesive member 405. For example, the third adhesive member 405 may bein a periphery of the first adhesive member 403. For example, the thirdadhesive member 405 may surround the first adhesive member 403. Thethird adhesive member 405 may assist the attachment of the firstadhesive member 403 and may not affect vibration of the sound generatingdevice 400. The third adhesive member 405 may include a double-sidedtape, a double-sided foam tape, a thermosetting adhesive, aphoto-curable adhesive, and a natural curable adhesive, but is notlimited thereto. For example, the thermosetting adhesive may be an epoxyresin, but is not limited thereto. For example, the third adhesivemember 405 may be formed of polyurethane, polyolefin, and polyethylene,but is not limited thereto.

As the attachment or contact area of the sound generating deviceincreases, robustness or stiffness of attachment of the sound generatingdevice may be ensured. Since the adhesive member is not attached to theentire surface of the sound generating device, the attachment or contactarea of the sound generating device is reduced and the sound generatingdevice may be detached due to vibration or external impact of the soundgenerating device. To prevent this, the sound generating device may befixed to the display panel by fastening a bolt or the like, welding orthe like, but it was recognized that there are problems such as adifficulty in the process or an increase in cost. Therefore, theinventors of the present disclosure realized a sound generating devicehaving a novel structure in which a structure is disposed to preventdetachment of the sound generating device. This will be described withreference to FIGS. 11 to 13. The structure may be applied to FIGS. 1 to3, and FIGS. 6 to 10.

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate a sound generating device and a structureaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11A is a side view and FIG. 11B is a front view. With reference toFIGS. 11A and 11B, a structure 810 may be further in a partial region ofthe sound generating device 400. For example, the structure 810 may beon a lower surface and a side surface of the sound generating device400. For example, the structure 810 may support the lower surface andthe side surface of the sound generating device 400. For example, thestructure 810 may surround the lower surface and the side surface of thesound generating device 400. The structure 810 may be formed of amaterial having high rigidity. For example, the structure 810 may beformed of stainless steel, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and a foamtape, but is not limited thereto. A fourth adhesive member 407 may bebetween the structure 810 and the sound generating device 400 andbetween the structure 810 and the display panel 110. The fourth adhesivemember 407 may be formed of a double-sided tape, a double-sided foamtape, a thermosetting adhesive, a photo-curable adhesive, and a naturalcurable adhesive, but is not limited thereto. For example, thethermosetting adhesive may be an epoxy resin, but is not limitedthereto. For example, the fourth adhesive member 407 may be formed ofpolyurethane, polyolefin, and polyethylene, but is not limited thereto.Therefore, by further configuring the structure at the partial region ofthe sound generating device, the bonding area of the sound generatingdevice with respect to the display panel may be enhanced, therebyimproving durability against vibration or external impact of the soundgenerating device and improving durability against detachment of thesound generating device.

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate a sound generating device and a structureaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12A is a side view and FIG. 12B is a front view. The soundgenerating device of FIGS. 12A and 12B is a cantilever beam type soundgenerating device 430, for example. With reference to FIGS. 12A and 12B,the sound generating device 430 may include an anchor 431 and a beam432. A structure 830 may be further disposed at a partial region of thesound generating device 430. For example, the anchor 431 of the soundgenerating device 430 and the structure 830 may be further disposed at apartial region of the beam 432. For example, the structure 830 may befurther disposed on a lower surface and a side surface of the soundgenerating device 430. For example, the structure 830 may support thelower surface and the side surface of the sound generating device 430.For example, the structure 830 may surround the lower surface and theside surface of the sound generating device 430. The structure 830 maybe formed of a material having high rigidity. For example, the structure830 may be formed of stainless steel, polyethylene terephthalate (PET)and foam tape, but is not limited thereto. A fourth adhesive member 407may be disposed between the structure 830 and the sound generatingdevice 430 and between the structure 830 and the display panel 110. Thefourth adhesive member 407 may include a double-sided tape, adouble-sided foam tape, a thermosetting adhesive, a photo-curableadhesive, and a natural curable adhesive, but is not limited thereto.For example, the thermosetting adhesive may be an epoxy resin, but isnot limited thereto. For example, the fourth adhesive member 407 may beformed of polyurethane, polyolefin, and polyethylene, but is not limitedthereto. Therefore, by further configuring the structure at the partialregion of the sound generating device, the bonding area of the soundgenerating device with respect to the display panel may be enhanced,thereby improving durability against vibration or external impact of thesound generating device and improving durability against detachment ofthe sound generating device.

FIGS. 13A to 13C illustrate a sound generating device and a structureaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13A is a side view and FIGS. 13B and 13C are front views. The soundgenerating device of FIGS. 13A to 13C is a both-end clamped beam typesound generating device 450, for example. With reference to FIGS. 13A to13C, the sound generating device 450 may include an anchor 451 and abeam 452. The anchor 451 may be formed of the same material as adouble-sided tape or beam 452 but is not limited thereto. A structure850 may be further disposed at a partial region of the sound generatingdevice 450. For example, the anchor 451 of the sound generating device450 and the structure 850 may be further disposed at a partial region ofthe beam 452. For example, the structure 850 may be further on a lowersurface and a side surface of the sound generating device 450. Forexample, the structure 850 may support the lower surface and the sidesurface of the sound generating device 450. For example, the structure850 may surround the lower surface and the side surface of the soundgenerating device 450. With reference to FIG. 13B, two structures 850may be disposed with respect to the sound generating device 450. Forexample, the two structures 850 may be disposed to correspond to theanchor 451 of the sound generating device 450. With reference to FIG.13C, the structure 850 may be disposed at a partial region of the soundgenerating device 450. For example, the structure 850 may cover theanchor 451 and the beam 452 of the sound generating device 450. Withreference to FIGS. 13A to 13C, the structure 850 may be formed of amaterial having high rigidity. For example, the structure 850 may beformed of stainless steel, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and foamtape, but is not limited thereto. A fourth adhesive member 407 may bedisposed between the structure 850 and the sound generating device 450and between the structure 850 and the display panel 110. The fourthadhesive member 407 may include a double-sided tape, a double-sided foamtape, a thermosetting adhesive, a photo-curable adhesive, and a naturalcurable adhesive, but is not limited thereto. For example, thethermosetting adhesive may be an epoxy resin, but is not limitedthereto. For example, the fourth adhesive member 407 may be formed ofpolyurethane, polyolefin, and polyethylene, but is not limited thereto.Therefore, by further configuring the structure at the partial region ofthe sound generating device, the bonding area of the sound generatingdevice may be enhanced, thereby improving durability against vibrationor external impact of the sound generating device and improvingdurability against detachment of the sound generating device. Thecontents described above with reference to FIGS. 3 and 6 to 9 may alsobe applied to the FIGS. 11 to 13 in the same manner.

FIG. 14 illustrates a sound output characteristic of a sound generatingdevice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In FIG. 14, the dotted line represents a sound output characteristicwhen an adhesive member is attached to the entire surface of the soundgenerating device, the alternated long and short dash line represents asound output characteristic of FIG. 5B, and the solid line represents asound output characteristic of FIG. 5C. The horizontal axis representsfrequency in hertz (Hz) and the vertical axis represents a soundpressure level (SPL) in decibel (dB).

The sound output characteristic may be measured by sound analysisequipment. The sound analysis equipment may include a sound cardtransmitting and receiving sound to and from a control PC, an amplifieramplifying a sound generated from the sound card to a sound generatingdevice, and a microphone collecting a sound generated through a soundgenerating device from a display panel. The sound collected by themicrophone is input to the control PC through the sound card, and acontrol program checks the sound to analyze the sound of the soundgenerating device.

The sound output characteristic was measured with respect to an anechoicchamber closed on all sides, and measurement equipment was APx525equipment manufactured by Audio Precision. A sound pressure measurementwas measured at a distance of about 10 mm from the display panel. Anapplied frequency signal was sine sweep from 20 Hz to 20 kHz and ameasurement result underwent ⅓ octave smoothing. However, themeasurement method is not limited to this example.

With reference to FIG. 14, in the case of FIG. 5B, which is a displayapparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it canbe seen that sound pressure of about 5 dB to 10 dB or higher is improvedin the entire surface of about 400 Hz or higher as compared with thedotted line corresponding to a case where a bonding agent is formed onthe entire surface of the sound generating device. In the case of FIG.5C, which is a display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, it can be seen that sound pressure of about 5 dB to10 dB or higher is improved in the entire surface of about 400 Hz orhigher as compared with the dotted line corresponding to a case where abonding agent is formed on the entire surface of the sound generatingdevice. Therefore, it can be seen that when the adhesive member isformed on a partial region of the sound generating device, soundpressure is improved as compared with the case where the adhesive memberis formed on the entire surface of the sound generating device.

A sound generating apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may be applied to a sound generating apparatus disposed in adisplay apparatus. A display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may be applied to a mobile apparatus, a video phone,a smart watch, a watch phone, a wearable apparatus, a foldableapparatus, a rollable apparatus, a bendable apparatus, a flexibleapparatus, a curved apparatus, an electronic notebook, an electronicbook, a portable multimedia player (PMP), a personal digital assistant(PDA), an MP3 player, a mobile medical apparatus, a desktop PC, a laptopPC, a netbook computer, a workstation, a navigation apparatus, anautomotive navigation apparatus, an automotive display apparatus, atelevision, a wallpaper apparatus, a signage apparatus, a gameapparatus, a notebook, a monitor, a camera, a camcorder, and a homeappliance. The sound generating apparatus of the present disclosure maybe applied to an organic light emitting illuminating apparatus or aninorganic light emitting illuminating apparatus. When the soundgenerating apparatus is applied to a lighting apparatus, it may serve aslighting and a speaker. The sound generating apparatus of the presentdisclosure may be applied to a receiver and/or a speaker of anelectronic apparatus or the like.

A display apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosuremay be described as follows.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a displayapparatus includes: a display module having a display panel configuredto display an image; a sound generating device on a rear surface of thedisplay panel and including a first side and a second side perpendicularto the first side; and an adhesive member in a partial region of thesound generating device, the adhesive member having a size smaller thanone of the first side and the second side of the sound generatingdevice.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the adhesive member may be in a central region ofthe sound generating device.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the adhesive member may have a first side and asecond side perpendicular to the first side, and a length of the firstside of the adhesive member may be 0.2 times to 1 time a length of thefirst side of the sound generating device.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the adhesive member may have a first side and asecond side perpendicular to the first side, and a length of the secondside of the adhesive member may be 0.2 times to 1 time a length of thesecond side of the sound generating device.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the adhesive member may have a first side and asecond side perpendicular to the first side, and a length of the firstside of the adhesive member may be 0.2 times to 1 time a length of thefirst side of the sound generating device and a length of the secondside of the adhesive member may be equal to a length of the second sideof the sound generating device.

For example, the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may further include a third adhesive member in aperiphery of the adhesive member.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the third adhesive member may be disposed tosurround the adhesive member.

For example, the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may further include a structure configured to supporta side surface and a lower surface of the sound generating device.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the structure may be formed of a rigid material.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the structure may be disposed at a partial region ofthe sound generating device.

For example, the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may further include a fourth adhesive member betweenthe structure and the sound generating device.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the display panel may include a first short side, asecond short side facing the first short side, and a long sideperpendicular to the first short side or the second short side, and adistance from a center of the sound generating device to an end of thefirst short side of the display panel may be ¼ to ⅓ with respect to thelong side of the display panel.

For example, the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may further include a second sound generating deviceon a rear surface of the display panel and including a first side and asecond side perpendicular to the first side; and a second adhesivemember between the display panel and the second sound generating deviceand including a first side and a second side perpendicular to the firstside.

For example, the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may further include a partition on the rear surfaceof the display panel and configured to separate sounds respectivelygenerated by the sound generating device and the second sound generatingdevice from each other.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment thepresent disclosure, a length of the first side of the second adhesivemember may be 0.2 times to 1 time a length of the first side of thesecond sound generating device and a length of the second side of thesecond adhesive member may be equal to a length of the second side ofthe second sound generating device.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the display panel may include a first short side, asecond short side facing the first short side, and a long sideperpendicular to the first short side or the second short side, and adistance from a center of the second sound generating device to an endof the second short side of the display panel may be ¼ to ⅓ with respectto the long side of the display panel.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the sound generating device may be disposed to besymmetrical with the second sound generating device with respect to amiddle portion of the display module.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a displayapparatus includes: a display module having a display panel configuredto display an image; a sound generating device on a rear surface of thedisplay panel and including a first side and a second side perpendicularto the first side; and an adhesive member between the display panel andthe sound generating device, the adhesive member including a first sideand a second side perpendicular to the first side, wherein a length ofthe first side of the adhesive member is smaller than or equal to alength of the first side of the sound generating device and a length ofthe second side of the adhesive member is smaller than or equal to alength of the second side of the sound generating device.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, a length of the first side of the adhesive membermay be 0.2 times to 1 time a length of the first side of the soundgenerating device and a length of the second side of the adhesive membermay be 0.2 times to 1 time a length of the second side of the soundgenerating device.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, a length of the first side of the adhesive membermay be 0.2 times to 1 time a length of the first side of the soundgenerating device and a length of the second side of the adhesive membermay be equal to a length of the second side of the sound generatingdevice.

For example, the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may further include a third adhesive member in aperiphery of the adhesive member.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the third adhesive member may be disposed tosurround the adhesive member.

For example, the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may further include a structure configured to supporta side surface and a lower surface of the sound generating device.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the structure may be formed of a rigid material.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the structure may be disposed at a partial region ofthe sound generating device.

For example, the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may further include a fourth adhesive member betweenthe structure and the sound generating device.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the display panel may include a first short side, asecond short side facing the first short side, and a long sideperpendicular to the first short side or the second short side, and adistance from a center of the sound generating device to an end of thefirst short side of the display panel may be ¼ to ⅓ with respect to thelong side of the display panel.

For example, the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may further include: a second sound generating deviceon a rear surface of the display panel and including a first side and asecond side perpendicular to the first side; and a second adhesivemember between the display panel and the second sound generating deviceand including a first side and a second side perpendicular to the firstside.

For example, the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may further include a partition on the rear surfaceof the display panel and configured to separate sounds respectivelygenerated by the sound generating device and the second sound generatingdevice from each other.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, a length of the first side of the second adhesivemember may be 0.2 times to 1 time a length of the first side of thesecond sound generating device and a length of the second side of thesecond adhesive member may be equal to a length of the second side ofthe second sound generating device.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the display panel may include a first short side, asecond short side facing the first short side, and a long sideperpendicular to the first short side or the second short side, and adistance from a center of the second sound generating device to an endof the second short side of the display panel may be ¼ to ⅓ with respectto the long side of the display panel.

For example, in the display apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the sound generating device may be disposed to besymmetrical with the second sound generating device with respect to amiddle portion of the display module.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations may be made in the display apparatus of thepresent disclosure without departing from the technical idea or scope ofthe disclosures. Thus, it is intended that embodiments the presentdisclosure cover the modifications and variations of the disclosureprovided they come within the scope of the appended claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display apparatus, comprising: a display modulehaving a display panel configured to display an image; a soundgenerating device on a rear surface of the display panel; a firstadhesive member between the display module and the sound generatingdevice; and a structure configured to support directly at least one of aplurality of side surfaces and a lower surface of the sound generatingdevice.
 2. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the soundgenerating device includes a first side and a second side perpendicularto the first side.
 3. The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein thefirst adhesive member is at at least a part of a central region of thesound generating device, the first adhesive member having a smaller sizethan one of the first side and the second side of the sound generatingdevice.
 4. The display apparatus of claim 2, wherein: the first adhesivemember has a first side and a second side perpendicular to the firstside, and a length of the first side of the first adhesive member is 0.2to 1 times a length of the first side of the sound generating device,and a length of the second side of the first adhesive member is 0.2 to 1times a length of the second side of the sound generating device.
 5. Thedisplay apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a third adhesive memberin a periphery of the first adhesive member, the third adhesive memberbeing disposed to surround a periphery of the first adhesive member. 6.The display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the structure is disposed at apartial region of the sound generating device.
 7. The display apparatusof claim 1, wherein at least part of the structure is disposed on therear surface of the display panel.
 8. The display apparatus of claim 7,further comprising a fourth adhesive member between the structure andthe sound generating device, and between the structure and the rearsurface of the display panel.
 9. The display apparatus of claim 1,wherein: the display panel comprises a first short side, a second shortside facing the first short side, and a long side perpendicular to thefirst short side or the second short side; and a distance from a centerof the sound generating device to an end of the first short side of thedisplay panel is ¼ to ⅓ of a length of the long side of the displaypanel or is ⅔ to ¾ of the length of the long side of the display panel.10. A display apparatus, comprising: a display module having a displaypanel configured to display an image; a plurality of sound generatingdevices on a rear surface of the display panel; an adhesive memberbetween the display module and the plurality of sound generatingdevices; and a structure configured to support directly at least one ofa plurality of side surfaces and a lower surface of the plurality ofsound generating devices.
 11. The display apparatus of claim 10,wherein: the plurality of sound generating devices comprises a firstsound generating device and a second sound generating device on the rearsurface of the display panel, and the first sound generating device andthe second sound generating device each include a first side and asecond side perpendicular to the first side.
 12. The display apparatusof claim 11, further comprising a partition on the rear surface of thedisplay panel and disposed between the first sound generating device andthe second sound generating device.
 13. The display apparatus of claim11, wherein the adhesive member is at at least a part of a centralregion of at least one of the first and second sound generating devices,the adhesive member having a smaller size than one of the first side andthe second side of the at least one of the first and second soundgenerating devices.
 14. The display apparatus of claim 11, wherein: theadhesive member has a first side and a second side perpendicular to thefirst side, a length of the first side of the adhesive member is 0.2 to1 times a length of the first side of at least one of the first andsecond sound generating devices, and a length of the second side of theadhesive member is 0.2 to 1 times a length of the second side of the atleast one of the first and second sound generating devices.
 15. Thedisplay apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a third adhesivemember in a periphery of the adhesive member, the third adhesive memberbeing disposed to surround a periphery of the adhesive member.
 16. Thedisplay apparatus of claim 10, wherein the structure is disposed at apartial region of the plurality of sound generating devices.
 17. Thedisplay apparatus of claim 10, wherein at least part of the structure ison the rear surface of the display panel.
 18. The display apparatus ofclaim 17, further comprising a fourth adhesive member between thestructure and the plurality of sound generating devices, and between thestructure and the rear surface of the display panel.
 19. The displayapparatus of claim 11, wherein: the display panel comprises a firstshort side, a second short side facing the first short side, and a longside perpendicular to the first short side or the second short side; adistance from a center of the first sound generating device to an end ofthe first short side of the display panel is ¼ to ⅓ of a length of thelong side of the display panel; and a distance from a center of thesecond sound generating device to an end of the second short side of thedisplay panel is ¼ to ⅓ of a length of the long side of the displaypanel.
 20. The display apparatus of claim 11, wherein the first soundgenerating device is disposed to be symmetrical with the second soundgenerating device with respect to a middle portion of the displaymodule.